Humanitarian Coordinator appeals for urgent funding for flood-affected people in South Sudan

The Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan, Alain Noudéhou, concluded a visit to Duk County in Jonglei and Panyijiar County in Unity, where he met with people affected by flooding. He was joined by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, heads of UN agencies, and directors of non-governmental organizations operating in the areas.

“Vast areas of the country along the River Nile are now underwater. More than 600,000 people have been affected since July in Jonglei, Lakes, Unity, Upper Nile, and Central and Western Equatoria. Entire communities have fled to higher ground to escape the rising waters. The number of people affected will continue to grow in the coming weeks, and many women and children who had earlier been displaced by sub-national violence are now displaced again,” said Mr. Noudéhou.

Humanitarian organizations are working to scale up the response by providing food, temporary shelter, fishing kits, water purification tablets, medicine, and other supplies, with a focus on people and areas that are most affected. In some communities, support is also being planned to rehabilitate disaster mitigation infrastructure such as dykes to complement the emergency response and to prevent more people for being displaced by the floods.

More than US$80 million is needed for the overall flood response, including $46 million for immediate assistance to 360,000 people until the end of the year.

Mr. Noudéhou said: “I am releasing $10 million from the South Sudan Humanitarian Fund for the flood response. I thank the donor community for its generous contribution to the overall humanitarian situation in South Sudan and call for more funding to respond to the immediate and urgent needs created by the floods.”

In addition to the immediate relief, further investment is needed in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation to avoid a repeat of the same crisis year after year.

Original source: UNOCHA